Pull
Pull turns up in 3 fields: heat treating, fiber optics, asphalt. Here is what it means to the people in each one.
Pull in heat treating
To take a load or part out of the furnace, usually on its way to the quench or at the end of a cycle.
Everyday heat-treat verb for unloading: pull the load when the soak timer runs out, pull a sample for a hardness check, pull it early when something goes wrong. In integral-quench and open-tank work the pull-to-quench time is controlled to seconds, because a slow transfer lets the surface cool and start transforming before it reaches the quench.
"Timer on four goes off at 3:15, pull it and get it in the oil, no coffee breaks in between."
Pull in fiber optics
A cable pulling operation, from setup at the feed end to the cable arriving at the far vault.
The whole job of drawing a cable through duct, innerduct or tray, including setting up the reel, pulling eye or sock, winch or capstan, lubrication and the crew stationed at every intermediate point. A center pull starts in the middle and pulls toward each end in turn, so each leg is only half the run and sees far less tension. Fiber pulls use tension-limited winches or breakaway swivels so the cable's rated load is never exceeded.
"Tomorrow's pull is 2,400 feet with four vaults, so it's a center pull and I need radios for everybody."
Pull in asphalt
One continuous paving pass from the start to the end of a run, or the lane width paved in that pass.
Crew talk for a single run of the paver down the job, from the starting point to where it stops and walks back for the next lane. Foremen count the day in pulls, plan which pull puts the joint where, and choose between long pulls and frequent lane changes to keep joints hot. The width of a pull depends on the screed setup, often 10 to 14 feet.
"Two more pulls on the eastbound and we're done, then load the paver up for the parking lot."